Binjiang Police Affairs-Chapter 1003 - 660: Quick and Efficient

Han Yu returned to the Yangtze Police 110, which had a shallower draft than 001, and without bothering to wipe the rainwater off his body, he raised the walkie-talkie again: "Captain Wu, this is Han Yu, do you copy?"

Despite the surrounding expanse of water, it does not meet the navigation conditions for the Linghai Reserve Camp's water formations.

It was hard to find the old river course, but it's too narrow, and several riverbanks have trees planted or even houses built on them.

The towering trees' crowns are barely visible now, and as for the houses, even the roofs can't be seen.

The rain was getting heavier, the sky darker, and the visibility was poor.

The waterborne formation is at risk of grounding at any moment. Once aground, it will be hard to return to the Yangtze River, and the entire waterborne mobile rescue formation would lose its combat effectiveness.

As the chief navigator of the No.1 waterborne formation, Wu Hai Li was walking on thin ice, overwhelmed with anxiety.

He heard Han Yu's call and hurriedly picked up the walkie-talkie: "Secretary Han, I know the situation is urgent, but we really can't speed up here!"

"The main force shouldn't come, immediately return to reinforce section 3 of the Ba Yi Dam."

"Not coming?"

"The navigation conditions on your side aren't good, and over here they are completely non-existent."

"Shouldn't we address the danger ahead?"

"The danger here isn't very severe, just a breach in the sub-dam, meaning some sandbags have washed away. The water pouring into the dike area might not even exceed the current downpour. And since this civil dike is quite large, the floodwaters pouring in won't have much impact inside the dike."

"So we head back now?"

"The main force will return, leaving three small boats from the grouting and transport teams behind, and 001 should come over as well." Han Yu thought for a moment and continued, "Is President Zou there?"

"Yes!"

"Have the Party Member Assault Team prepare the steel pipe fasteners, and move fast."

"Plan No. 4?"

"Yes."

"Understood."

...

The floodwaters are flowing faster and faster.

It's raining from the sky, and Captain Zheng and the others are soaked in the murky floodwater from the chest down, their teeth chattering from the cold, their legs numb, unable to feel the flood pressing between their legs, only knowing to hold on to those nearby to stand firm, lest they slip and be washed away again.

The "Hong Kong Garrison" guy called Salted Fish said to hold out for another hour.

Time passed so slowly!

How hard it is to last an hour.

Fortunately, military and civilian helpers rushed from nearby dam sections, fighting stubbornly and using whatever they could to barely control the breach from extending further.

Just as the officers and soldiers were complaining about how slow the "Hong Kong Garrison" was, a police boat larger than the previous one appeared within sight.

From the water, looking at the water's surface, the view was unique.

From a distance, the police boat looked enormous, like a warship.

"Comrades, we have arrived! Captain Zheng, we're here!"

"Enough talk, can you move any faster?"

Captain Zheng shouted angrily, but the wind and rain were so loud that those on the police boat couldn't hear him. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

What frustrated people more was that the police boat didn't come to the breach side but slowly approached the sub-dam without a breach.

Perhaps the water was too shallow to approach closer, so they anchored and then laid a gangway onto the sub-dam.

Soon, seven or eight people went ashore via the gangway, and a few more people could be seen on the boat, blocked by the bow, presumably busy at the stern.

Only one boat came with a few people; what difference could they make?

"You guys hold steady, I'll go see what's going on!"

Captain Zheng was anxious, enduring the acute pain in his legs due to rheumatism, moving along the human wall to the non-breached side, climbed up with the help of the warriors on the sub-dam, yet the pain in his legs, numbness from long exposure to water, and the muddy sub-dam made him slip and fall after a few steps.

The warriors quickly helped him up, supporting him carefully to 001's "landing point."

"Brothers, please make way."

"Chen Jian, hurry up!"

"Uncle Zhu, we're ready, let's lift." Zhu Baogen and Xiao Chen tugged the pulleys vigorously, hoisting a bundle of pre-bound steel pipes from the rear deck of 001.

Xu Mingyuan quickly grabbed the rope, and as the jib swiveled, the steel pipes suspended mid-air were transferred onto the sub-dam.

Li Jun and other assault team members rapidly unhooked the crane hook and steel cable, then opened the burlap sacks just lifted, retrieving the prepared fasteners, assembling the "steel pipe fence" on-site with wrenches.

They were preparing to set up a scaffold...

Captain Zheng had just figured out what was happening when a familiar voice came from the boat.

"Old Zheng, Salted Fish agreed on an hour, and we arrived half an hour early. How's that speed? You can't curse us now, right?"

"Old Yang!"

"You stay there, I'll come up." Political Commissar Yang didn't want to fall into the floodwater while crossing the slippery gangway, using a bamboo pole to steady himself, cautiously making his way ashore.

After not seeing each other for over ten days, even old comrades looked odd, with walkie-talkies and phones tied to their chests, both covered with rainproof plastic covers.

Seeing his old comrade afraid of falling, Captain Zheng felt fury bubbling up, exasperatedly asking, "Where are your troops?"

"They're here." Political Commissar Yang turned to point behind 001, smiling, "And there are three more boats behind."

Captain Zheng peeked over and indeed found three more boats, noticing several figures busy on the boats, asking, "Only these few people came?"

"Yes."

"Where's your aircraft carrier formation, your excavators, bulldozers?"

"They didn't come."

"Didn't come!"

"To be precise, they went back."

"Why did they go back?"

Political Commissar Yang knew he had rheumatism, supported his arm, signaled to the two young warriors to go ahead, and then leaned close to his ear: "Our mission is different from yours. You just need to guard this civil dike, but we must urgently protect the main dry dam situations along both banks of the Lower Jing River."

Captain Zheng gritted his teeth and asked, "Is our place not important? Are the lives of the forty thousand-plus people here not as valuable as elsewhere?"

"You can't say it like that; if it weren't important, we wouldn't have come!" Political Commissar Yang gave him a glare and explained: "Do you know how much risk and effort we've taken to come support you?"

"What effort did you put in?"

"We came through the breach you couldn't hold. The breach appears wide but is very shallow, no ship can pass. We had to first replace the main arm of the excavator with an extended arm and work on the water like clearing a waterway, digging out the underwater dam at the breach before we could come in."

"Is it very troublesome?"

"What do you think?"

"But with so few of you, can you really help?"

"Certainly."

At that moment, Xu Mingyuan was already prepared.

He picked up a sledgehammer and headed straight toward the breach.

Li Jun, Chen Jian, and other assault team members, in pairs, carried the newly assembled "steel pipe fence" and followed closely, with the remaining assault team members carrying sledgehammers or steel pipes trailing behind.

"Comrades, thank you for your hard work, please hold on for just another ten minutes!"

Xu Mingyuan glanced at the officers and soldiers blocking the breach with their flesh and blood, then pointed at the junction of the breach and the unaffected sub-dam: "Li Jun, put it here, hold it steady."

"We definitely will hold it, but you have to aim accurately!"

"Don't worry, it won't hit your hand."

Xu Mingyuan swung the sledgehammer, aimed at the steel pipe and hammered down.

Once, twice, thrice...

After more than twenty blows, the over three-meter steel pipe fence stood firm behind the personnel wall of the 127th Battalion.

This is only hammered down, it doesn't mean it can bear the load.

Gao Jichun and other assault team members braced against the incoming torrent, quickly using steel pipes to support the fence diagonally.

The end connecting the fence must be secured with fasteners, the internal dam has a slope, and the other end can't penetrate the dam body; steel pipes are needed to continue piling, and after piling, they must squat in the waterfall-like flood and fasten the fasteners again.

Not only professional, but also daring and resolute.

Captain Zheng roughly understood the "Hong Kong Garrison's" plan for urgent protection and muttered: "These dozen soldiers are alright."

Political Commissar Yang whispered: "This is the Linghai Reserve Battalion Party Member Assault Team, what do you mean, alright."

"All party members?"

"Not only all party members but most are leaders too."

Political Commissar Yang pointed to the busy officers and soldiers in the flood, introducing: "That one is Xu Mingyuan, originally was the Criminal Police Big Commander, now both a Customs officer and the Deputy Instructor for the Linghai Reserve Camp. Next to Xu Mingyuan is Li Jun, an active officer at the Binjiang Border Control Station, Standard Camp."

"Even the Border Guards have come."

"Yes."

"The young guy beside Li Jun has a background too; he's not just a retired soldier, he's the City Secretary's driver for Linghai City!"

...

Before Political Commissar Yang could finish the introduction, a row of scaffolding was already installed and secured, and suddenly, a broadcast came through the loudspeaker on the police boat.

"Attention to those blocking the breach, attention to those blocking the breach, please evacuate along the scaffolding immediately, please evacuate along the scaffolding immediately, pay attention to safety while evacuating, pay attention to safety while evacuating!"

"Brothers, we'll take over here now, you all quickly go down and rest."

Xu Mingyuan and others shouted while supporting the shivering 127th Battalion officers and soldiers as they evacuated.

Soon after, the 001 ship, having unknown when it had raised anchor, slowly approached the breach, but did not get close to it; instead, it slowly turned around, and stopped about twenty meters straight ahead of the breach first, dropping a ship's anchor, then adjusted its course to point the stern at the breach.

Captain Zheng was bewildered: "Old Yang, what are they doing."

"Preparing to block the breach, the police boat is to anchor the blocking ship, otherwise the ship coming to block the breach would be pushed into the sub-dam by the flood."

"Are you planning to sink the ship?"

"Sinking the ship won't solve the problem, and such a small breach does not require sinking a ship."

Just as Political Commissar Yang finished speaking, a cargo ship "thud thud thud" came to the breach, faintly visible that there indeed was a cable tied from the police boat to the cargo ship.

"Du Yuan, immediately set up the belt conveyor, prepare to drop sandbags!"

"Instructor Xu, prepare to receive sandbags, aim accurately, be careful."

As Han Yu issued the command, the officers and soldiers from the 132nd Battalion on the ship and those from the Linghai Reserve Battalion Party Member Assault Team soaking in the breach raised their hands to indicate they understood.

Next, what happened left everyone on the sub-dam stunned.

People on the cargo ship set up a long belt conveyor, and one by one, the sandbags were sent to the breach through the conveyor.

Standing soaking in the breach, Xu Mingyuan and others stood on either side below the conveyor's end. Once a sandbag dropped, they squatted in the flood and placed the sandbag over at the scaffolding.

Repeating this process, it took less than twenty minutes to successfully block half the breach!

The first ship's sandbags ran out, the second ship followed.

After moving the belt conveyor to the second ship, sandbags continued to stream towards the breach.

Just like loading and unloading cargo at a dock, people on the ship only needed to lift the pre-prepared sandbags onto the conveyor, while those in the breach only needed to place the delivered sandbags where they were needed...

"Political Commissar, Political Commissar, I'm Han Yu, are you beside Captain Zheng?"

"Yes."

"Please let Captain Zheng speak."

"Old Zheng, they're looking for you."

Just moments ago, they thought it was all over, yet in no time, the breach was blocked, no wonder they said the problem wasn't significant!

Captain Zheng came to his senses, took the walkie-talkie and asked: "Captain Han, what's the directive?"

"Captain Zheng, you're quite the comedian, I wouldn't dare give you directives."

"What's up?"

"We have roughly 7500 sandbags left on our ship; since we've brought them here, we can't take them back. Tell us where they're needed and we'll deliver them right away."

"Needed, they're needed everywhere!"

"Give a specific location, we have other urgent tasks to attend to and can't delay too long here."